Featuring contributions by some of the leading experts in Korean studies, this book examines the political content of Kim Jong-Il's regime maintenance, including both the domestic strategy for regime survival and North Korea's foreign relations with South Korea, Russia, China, Japan, and the United States. It considers how and why the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) became a "hermit kingdom" in the name of Juche (self-reliance) ideology, and the potential for the barriers of isolationism to endure. This up-to-date analysis of the DPRK's domestic and external policy linkages also includes a discussion of the ongoing North Korean nuclear standoff in the region.

Young Whan Kihl, Hong Nack Kim

Tables and Figures, Preface, 1. Staying Power of the Socialist "Hermit Kingdom", Part I. Domestic Politics and Political Economy, Part II. The Politics of Foreign Relations, Part III. Future Prospects, Bibliography, List of Contributors, Index